Reasons to consider riding the bus...

[D'Elete BC in NJ]

A particularly awful commute home tonight , due to about a cm of snow, left me with a lot of time to consider all the good reasons to ride the bus. Here are some of them :

• If you routinely find yourself thinking, "Why is everyone in such a hurry?", you should take the bus.
  
• If you can't maintain 50 km/hr on the highway when you think it might snow or rain, you should take the bus.
  
• If you can't change lanes without slamming on the brakes, you should take the bus.
  
• If you have ever stopped on a highway on-ramp because, "No one would let me in!", you should take the bus.
  
• If you routinely try to turn left across the one of the busiest road in the area, and nobody seems to give you a chance, you should take the bus.
  
• If you cannot pass an accident scene without making sure you slow down so you don't miss anything, you should take the bus.
  
• And, if you often find yourself being passed on the right, you should consider slamming on your brakes and changing lanes to the right. Then you should take the bus.
  

Everyone is more than welcome to post their reasons to ride the bus! ;D

[Nick]

If you find the set speed limits "Way too fast" and decide 40km/h in a 70 zone is fair.

If you stop IN a traffic circle to let other people in.

[DENelson83]

How about "if you don't own a vehicle"?

[Mike C]

-If you like meeting new people

-If you enjoy riding transit.... ;D

-If you ride the bus once and manage to retain patience (this is hard to do on the 319) then you should ride frequently.

-If you don't understand the transit system, practice makes perfect

-if you're not old enough to drive, then ride the bus, and look over the driver's shoulder for what NOT to do on your driver's test.

[DENelson83]

mainlander101 said:

-If you ride the bus once and manage to retain patience (this is hard to do on the 319) then you should ride frequently.

What's so long with the Scottsdale-Scott Road bus route? It doesn't seem that long on the map.
----
It's too bad I can't ride transit all the way down to Nanaimo, because there's a 32 km-long gap between the southernmost point served by the Comox Valley transit system and the northernmost point served by the Nanaimo Regional transit system. I call it the "Bowser Gap."

Edit: Bah! Stupid double post again!

[Northern Exploration]

I will broaden this slightly and include all froms of transit. If I stayed in one location downtown I would love to ride the GO Train downtown Toronto. There are times when I have been crawling on the QEW highway and watched the train zoom by at 110 km/h. Being able to read a book or the paper would be great. Instead I try and talk on the phone (using a headset) or listen to music inbetween the traffic reports. Unfortunately, I don't travel to one location downtown and stay there or I certainly would be on the train. My clients are all over the city. When I go to one client and I am going to a second place and it is on the subway I try and do that. Parking in Toronto is getting expensive so the subway is cheaper besides saving gas. They have promised to electrify the GO Train to downtown which will make it even faster, able to carry two more coaches (200 more people) and run with less polution.

Unfortunately unlike NYC and even to an extent Montreal the subways and trains are all focused to downtown travel. And the buses/streetcars are just too slow to get from one place to another in such a spread out city. So I end up driving.

Some of the light rail plans (updated streetcars) if they ever come about will help by making more of a grid. But Toronto's downtown has exploded with Condos. I was told that it was the highest in North America as far as Condo sales. There are two huge 70+ condos currently selling along side the dozens and dozens of others. We have a Trump Tower, Ritz Carleton, and Shangrila with multi-million dollar condos for sale. Makes for a dynamic downtown that doesn't close down after work like some US Cities. However there is so many people who live downtown and now work in the suburbs that there is a two direction rush hour. If I do downtown to spend the evening you have to count on the traffic to get downtown.

[Mike C]

denelson83 said:

mainlander101 said:

-If you ride the bus once and manage to retain patience (this is hard to do on the 319) then you should ride frequently.

What's so long with the Scottsdale-Scott Road bus route? It doesn't seem that long on the map.

It's slow... and it stops, on average, about every second block. An easy ten minutes quickly turns to a 20-25 minute trip, taking into effect bad traffic, and traffic lights at literally every second block.

And the buses are usually filled up to about 3/4 full leaving Scott Road Station, and they fill up on the way to my home base in Scottsdale.

I personally reccomend the 340, for those Scottsdale-SkyTrain travelers, just because it takes just as long, there are far less people on board, it takes the freeway so fewer stops, and it gets you further along the line.

[D'Elete BC in NJ]

coxnnick said:

If you stop IN a traffic circle to let other people in.

lol, brilliant, I didn't even think of that one and the northeast US is loaded with them, though in Jersey traffic circle = blind...no, wait...road = blind...

mainlander101 said:

-if you're not old enough to drive, then ride the bus, and look over the driver's shoulder for what NOT to do on your driver's test.

You mean that big yield sign doesn't give them the right to careen across three lanes of traffic without looking so you can make a left after pulling away from your stop? ;D (question based on an experience that left me in on coming traffic last week...and I gave him a lane...and a dirty look! )

[Low Light Mike]

Here's some classic Weird Al Yankovic. The YouTube clip has a long intro, but the song and lyrics are worth the wait. It's even better if you know the original song that's being parodied.



(the song starts at 1:05 of the clip)

[DENelson83]

Lemme guess, "Another One Rides The Bus"?

[Northern Exploration]

That is funny. Now if that one sticks in my head when I go to bed I will be steamed !

[Political Incorrectness]

- If driving expenses are too expensive
-Want an easy way to get to and from destinations without worrying about traffic

[Balfour]

- If you want a low stress way of commuting, take the bus.

[DENelson83]

If you're a bus nut, take the bus!

[Mike C]

denelson83 said:

If you're a bus nut, take the bus!

I've been waiting to hear this one, THANK YOU!!!

[Mill Bay]

Couple struck by van as they cross freeway
Friday, February 08 - 04:50:00 AM

John Streit/Andrea Macpherson
CHILLIWACK (NEWS1130) -

RCMP had Highway 1 closed westbound near Lickman Road for over four hours Thursday night because of a deadly accident.

Constable Leanne Dunlop says it appears a man and women were trying to cross the freeway underneath the overpass at around six, when they were hit and killed by a van.

She says their names and further details can't be released until their family is notified.

Dunlop said the pair were struck by a van with a driver and passenger. The two people inside the van were shaken by the incident but otherwise not injured.

The collision caused a chain reaction of other accidents involving between six and eight vehicles. The coroner was on the scene along with RCMP accident investigators.



Are drivers or pedestrians becoming more careless on our roads?

News1130 File Photo
Friday, February 08 - 08:35:00 AM

Lyle Fisher

VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) -

A double pedestrian fatality last night in Chillwack has police issuing a warning to drivers and pedestrians to be extra careful on busy streets. The man and woman were struck and killed while trying to cross the busy freeway near Lickman Road.

In Vancouver this morning one man says careless drivers are the ones making our roads treacherous. He says drivers often don't stop, even when a person is in a crosswalk.

He says he has been hit by a car twice. He says a driver in the outside lane on Willingdon stopped, he looked on the other side and it appeared the lane was clear, and then a truck came up behind the first vehicle, changed lanes, kept going, and then hit him.

Another pedestrian says if you follow the rule that pedestrians have the right of way, you could end up in the hospital. He says the whole problem is pedestrians aren't as careful as they should be, and they're not looking to see what the drivers are doing. He says pedestrians should be more courteous to drivers.

Two pedestrian accidents this week in Surrey has the RCMP there warning people to be careful because of the unpredictable weather we've been getting and because of the the fewer hours of daylight.

[Neil]

One thing that never fails to blow my mind is how transit always breaks down in inclement weather. In precisely the situations where people need to leave their cars at home and use a safe, dependable public system, there's always major glitches. In cold, snowy weather, the doors on the skytrains freeze, or track sensors malfunction, or some stupid thing happens that you think would have been covered in the design stage.

A couple of nights ago, tons of students were stranded at SFU by a relatively minor snowfall, because buses couldn't get up the hill. The temperature was about zero; all it would have taken was a plough to do one pass up and down the hill, with a dump of salt behind, and the road would have been open. Or, failing that, is it rocket science to have a couple of chain equipped buses stationed in the area to gradually shuttle people up or down? It's a major university, for gawdsakes- there are thousands of people there every day. My daughter once walked all the way down to the skytrain station in the snow because there was no transit. That is absolutely rediculas, as Karl would say.

Now transit officials are spending over a million dollars to put an automated voice system on buses to call out the stops. "The next stop is -49th Avenue. The next stop is- 47th Avenue. The next stop is -45th Avenue...." Better that they invest in some sets of chains, or have some ploughs ready, or do whatever else needs to be done to make sure the transit system is functioning when people need it most.

[DENelson83]

millbay said:

Couple struck by van as they cross freeway
Friday, February 08 - 04:50:00 AM

John Streit/Andrea Macpherson
CHILLIWACK (NEWS1130) -

RCMP had Highway 1 closed westbound near Lickman Road for over four hours Thursday night because of a deadly accident.

Constable Leanne Dunlop says it appears a man and women were trying to cross the freeway underneath the overpass at around six, when they were hit and killed by a van.

She says their names and further details can't be released until their family is notified.

Dunlop said the pair were struck by a van with a driver and passenger. The two people inside the van were shaken by the incident but otherwise not injured.

The collision caused a chain reaction of other accidents involving between six and eight vehicles. The coroner was on the scene along with RCMP accident investigators.

Didn't read the sign, eh?

[kylefossett]

denelson83 said:

millbay said:

Couple struck by van as they cross freeway
Friday, February 08 - 04:50:00 AM

John Streit/Andrea Macpherson
CHILLIWACK (NEWS1130) -

RCMP had Highway 1 closed westbound near Lickman Road for over four hours Thursday night because of a deadly accident.

Constable Leanne Dunlop says it appears a man and women were trying to cross the freeway underneath the overpass at around six, when they were hit and killed by a van.

She says their names and further details can't be released until their family is notified.

Dunlop said the pair were struck by a van with a driver and passenger. The two people inside the van were shaken by the incident but otherwise not injured.

The collision caused a chain reaction of other accidents involving between six and eight vehicles. The coroner was on the scene along with RCMP accident investigators.

Didn't read the sign, eh?

wait for some of the facts to come out as to why they were on the freeway in the first place before you start posting stuff like you did. could be anything from a breakdown of the vehicle to an argument in a taxi as the news is reporting. 2 people died who were possibly someone's father, son, brother, sister, mother, daughter.

[DENelson83]

kylefossett said:

wait for some of the facts to come out as to why they were on the freeway in the first place before you start posting stuff like you did.

"People who jump to conclusions spend a lot of time in the air."

(goes to the corner for time-out)

[WettCoast]

There is indeed more to that story... Read the following from CBC News:

www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2008/02/07/bc-chill.html

[DENelson83]

Back to the original topic...

Healthy alternative: Take mass transit
www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-01-31-masstransit_N.htm

[Northern Exploration]

Interesting article on the new version of the hybrid buses built by Orion Bus Industries that is being launched by the TTC. Attached also at the bottom is an article on the new double decker buses GoTransit is buying for use on their commuter network here as well. Unfortunately the picture that was in the newspaper is not included in the web version.

www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/302662

[D'Elete BC in NJ]

hornbyguy said:

One thing that never fails to blow my mind is how transit always breaks down in inclement weather. In precisely the situations where people need to leave their cars at home and use a safe, dependable public system, there's always major glitches. In cold, snowy weather, the doors on the skytrains freeze, or track sensors malfunction, or some stupid thing happens that you think would have been covered in the design stage.

A couple of nights ago, tons of students were stranded at SFU by a relatively minor snowfall, because buses couldn't get up the hill. The temperature was about zero; all it would have taken was a plough to do one pass up and down the hill, with a dump of salt behind, and the road would have been open. Or, failing that, is it rocket science to have a couple of chain equipped buses stationed in the area to gradually shuttle people up or down? It's a major university, for gawdsakes- there are thousands of people there every day. My daughter once walked all the way down to the skytrain station in the snow because there was no transit. That is absolutely rediculas, as Karl would say.

Now transit officials are spending over a million dollars to put an automated voice system on buses to call out the stops. "The next stop is -49th Avenue. The next stop is- 47th Avenue. The next stop is -45th Avenue...." Better that they invest in some sets of chains, or have some ploughs ready, or do whatever else needs to be done to make sure the transit system is functioning when people need it most.

Neil,

Having just returned from Quebec, I must say this isn't the case for all transit systems. The RTC might have been a little behind schedule, but bouncing off of snowdrifts, which wasn't an unusual occurence, didn't seem to rattle them too much! IMO, I would think that, with adequate training and equipment, any transit system could handle adverse conditions with little loss of service.

[Northern Exploration]

Yeah BCinNJ those Nova buses seem to shake, rattle and roll. They seem to just take the weather in stride and keep on trucking up and down those steep hills. Look forward to hearing about your trip.